


Not To Us

by walkingparadise



Category: No Fandom, Original Work
Genre: F/F, Fluff, contemporary
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-02
Updated: 2017-01-02
Packaged: 2018-09-14 08:23:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9170650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/walkingparadise/pseuds/walkingparadise
Summary: Jane drags her girlfriend, Kathleen, to go surfing with her despite the cold night.





	

**Author's Note:**

> [Livewire - Oh Wonder](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fzefj2lkLlE)

“Jane, close up for me, will ya? And don’t leave the backdoor unlocked again!” Aaron called as he left the gift shop.  


“It only happened once! And nobody even stole anything!” Jane yelled back, but Aaron was already gone. There were only five minutes until closing time, yet Aaron couldn’t stay himself. Apparently, he had “some hot date” he had to prepare for. Jane thought it was bullshit; Aaron was always leaving early for work, always making the same excuses.  


She sighed, looking across the empty shop. Outside, the dark sky was lit up with hundreds of stars, sprawled across like paint thrown on a canvas.  


_Nobody will notice if I close five minutes early._ Jane walked from behind the counter and checked the entire store, making sure nobody was inside. Then, she shut off the lights and locked the door.  


She shivered from the cold, but smiled once she smelled the salty breeze from the ocean just a few miles away. She was meeting Kathleen at the beach soon, so she quickly biked back to her house to get her board. “House” was too nice of a word for Jane’s home; Kathleen always referred to it as a shack. It was beaten and torn down, the red paint was fading away at the edges of the walls, there was sand everywhere, and it smelled of sea salt, but Jane loved it. It was the house she lived at alone for the first time, the house she lived at when she met Kathleen, and the house she lived at when she found her real home in the ocean.  


Jane rushed inside and grabbed her surfboard and wetsuit before hoping back on her bike and cycling to the beach, somehow mastering the art of carrying a surfboard while riding a bicycle. She didn’t own a car, but she’s had enough trips to the beach to manage holding it with one arm. She biked on the road, speeding past the blooming yellow flowers on the sidewalk and the tourists walking and admiring the view, smelling the ocean. Jane was used to the smell now. She remembers when she first moved: she would never leave the beach, and every five seconds she would close her eyes and take a deep breath, letting the salty air fill her lungs. This was where she belonged.  


She could hear the ocean grow louder as she drew closer. She listened to the rhythmic crash and withdrawal of each wave.  


Kathleen was waiting for her at their usual spot by the pier. When they first declared it their spot, they stuck a little white flag in the sand, but it was blown away the next day. It didn’t matter that there was no flag, though; they always knew where to meet.  


“It’s fucking freezing,” Kathleen said when she spotted Jane. “Remind me again why I agreed to come so late at night?”  


“Because you love me?” Jane smiled and gave her a peck on the cheek.  


“Shut up, Jane Doe,” Kathleen shoved her and she fell into the sand playfully.  


“Oh, God! Help, I can’t get up!” Jane held her arms up, calling out for her.  


She smiled and climbed on top of Jane, kissing her to shut her up. Jane brought her hand up to Kathleen’s waist, holding her in place, never wanting the moment to end. 

Kathleen’s hand found its way to her jaw, her fingers trailing lines down her neck. Then, she got up and pulled Jane up as well.  


“Come on, soon it’ll be too cold to get in the water.”  


“Listen, Kat, it’s _never_ too cold to get in the water.” Jane smiled bright, and Kathleen stared at her, mesmerized. _She could light the sky with that smile._  


Kathleen helped Jane slip into her wetsuit and they both headed out into the ocean with their boards. The water was calm and soothing. Jane didn’t paddle far; she didn’t want to surf, she just wanted to be in the water. It always calmed her down. When she was in the ocean, she didn’t have to think about getting a better job or paying bills or anything at all.  


Kathleen splashed water at her and laughed. “Jane Doe! Wake up!”  


She jumped from her board, startled, and fell into the water. “Kat!” she squealed when she broke the surface.  


She climbed back on top of her board, feeling the cold water numb her body. Kathleen paddled until they were side by side. They floated there, looking up at the night sky. There were so many stars and probably some constellations, but Jane was never big on astrology. They were brilliant, though.  


“Ha! Look at those dead stars.” Kathleen pointed up at the sky.  


Jane grunted, “Do you have to say that every time we look at the stars?”  


“Alright, alright. They’re not dead, yet, not to us.”  


“Not to us,” Jane repeated, staring up mindlessly.  


She could feel the waterline run up and down her thighs through the wetsuit. Home. Kathleen reached over and held Jane’s hand, giving her a soft smile. The noise from the tourists on the pier next to them faded to background noise. Jane looked into the water and wondered what could be living and breathing under her board: fishes and crabs, seaweed and coral, all the microscopic organisms keeping her home afloat, keeping it alive. Above her, the stars were highlighted against the black backdrop.  


Jane thought about Kathleen’s comment about the stars, about how most of them are probably dead by the time their light reached Jane’s eyes, but, despite the light-years they had to travel, they still made it. There they were, up in the sky for everyone to gawk at. This is what they leave behind: a streak of light across the atmosphere, a spring of wildflowers in the cracks of the sidewalk, a sea of fish in the saltwater.


End file.
